Rachel Taulelei appointed Chair of Wellington Regional Stadium Trust

The Wellington Regional Stadium Trust, operators of the New Zealand capital's Sky Stadium, has announced the appointment of Rachel Taulelei as Chair.

Taulelei, who has been a Trustee for seven years, having been appointed in 2014, is Chief Executive of Kono, a vertically integrated, family-owned Māori food and beverage producer and exporter of award-winning wine, cider, craft beer, seafood, fruit and natural fruit bars.

Taulelei also presently chairs New Zealand’s APEC Business Advisory Council, and her career includes being a former US Trade Commissioner, founder of sustainable seafood company Yellow Brick Road Limited and was a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council. Her governance experience includes The Warehouse Group, Moana NZ, New Zealand Wine Growers, Aquaculture New Zealand, NZ Hops, the Young Enterprise Trust, and Sir Peter Blake Trust. Rachel has received the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award and is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to food and hospitality. She is a KEA World Class New Zealander and in 2018 was named Māori Woman Business Leader at the prestigious University of Auckland Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards.

Retiring Chair John Shewan, who has held the role for the past nine years, said the Stadium was delighted Rachel was stepping into the role.

Shewan advised “Rachel is a passionate advocate for Wellington and for the key role the Stadium plays as the region’s major community sports and entertainment facility.”

Taulelei holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Victoria and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and a graduate of the Stanford University Executive Programme. 

She will assume the role from 1st July 2021.